Rare occasions when you can see an F1 car so clearly

When can you get to see an F1 car so clearly? Well, you can if any of the following occurs:

1. Safety car is out due to an accident or debris is littered on the track
2. Warming up / Warming down lap
3. Car grinding to a halt due to mechanical failure or having slid off the track
4. The exciting (& sometimes messed-up) pit stops
   

Opening lap of the Sg GP

F1 tickets

Some pics and a video taken @ the Sg F1 GP

Just out of turn 5


F1 merchandise on sale (cut-throat prices)


Just out of Turn 8



Gate 4 is located along Coleman Street

This video was recorded along the stretch of St Andrew's Rd where the cars pick up speed before slowing down when approaching the old Parliament House and onto the narrow Anderson Bridge. See if you can identify which car zipped by!

Just came back from the GP

Many thanks to Angela's colleague's sister who blessed me with not 1 but 2 tickets to the GP. As it is only a day pass, that is good enough. I went with Aaron to catch those cars zipping by at break-neck speeds. Some videos and photos to follow....

Frustrated

Why is it that certain things which happen once in a blue moon but the timing is never right? Then there are those who are blessed but do not realise it. They are entitled to something fully paid yet they do not appreciate it. Out there are numerous people who desire something but cannot afford or possess it due to various reasons but these privileged people just do not know. Then comes the issue of the rich get richer while those on the other end of the scale keep on declining. Unfairness is something that cannot be fully eradicated so what can be done? Simple. Be in the position where you are at the winning side of any unfair deals. Isn't it great to be in a position where sponsors just come in numbers leaving you spoilt for choice. Isn't it a fantastic feeling where others look at you with that envious look? Too bad. Such things will forever be a dream and never materialise for many.....

Esther & me

Saw the lighted pit bdg

On our way to the chalet, I took the ECP there was a massive jam along the PIE. Unfortunately, traffic was not much better but we managed to get a glimse of the completed pit building which will open its doors to the inaugural Singtel F1 Sg GP. I am still trying to think of places where I can try to get at least a glimpse of the cars and of course hear the roar of the engines. Seems quite hard....

Trying to finish up as much work as I can

Since there is a chalet tmw, I am trying to finish as much work as possible so that I will not feel guilty! Basically, the most troublesome one is the 1500 word essay. Not that the topic is difficult but the very fact that it requires quite a fair bit of outside prep work makes it rather mundane. Granted, it is not the content that matters but more of the thinking, analytical and critical process. In fact, I feel that the dip modules I did are more than sufficient and I rather focus on my maths and sci modules. However, like I mentioned before, I do not have a choice so just have to bear with it.

Hmmm...what's on tv?

77 days to the SCSM 08

I just went for a 2 hr running session earlier. Basically, the hot an humid weather did not help but it sure felt great to have a good sweating session. As the title suggests, i have just about 77 days to the highlight of all running events: the Stanchart Sg Marathon. As this is my 2nd marathon, I intend to improve my timing from what I achieved in the Sundown Marathon in May. Initially I set the target of 5hr 30min. Depending on how my training progresses, I might revise or leave my target unchanged. Looking at the route, it does not that boring Marina section but this time round, full marathoners will have to run much further along the East Coast section right up to the sailing centre. At least there is the the sea breeze to look forward to but if there are sights of people having a BBQ or breakfast along the way, that is sure to cause some stir in my tummy!

mouth wide open

"Why is the apple so cold?"

Esther turns 18mths today

Is a recession coming?

Headlines in major newspapers around the world will most probably report about the same thing: the financial crisis in the US which is spreading like wildfire to other parts of the world. It seems as if the repeat of the 1997 Asian financial crisis except that this time it is a much larger scale. And the US Presidential elections are just about to take place in two months. Obviously this is the perfect time for the candidates to play the blame game. (Check out Yahoo news)

The big question in everyone's mind is whether a recession is approaching. The papers reported that what happened over the past 48hours seemed even worse than the Great Depression of the 1930s. This makes me wonder if the government will revise the economic growth once again...

Post race analysis of the Italian GP (selected teams only)

It was like old times on Sunday, as Ferrari power and a German driver won the Italian Grand Prix - yet there was no red to be seen on the Monza podium. The Tifosi seemed delighted nonetheless, as did everyone who witnessed the magnificent drive that gave Sebastian Vettel his historic maiden win. As Toro Rosso and their 21 year-old protege celebrated, the title contenders were left to reflect on mixed fortunes. Lewis Hamilton saw Felipe Massa cut his championship lead to a single point, while Kimi Raikkonen’s hopes of retaining his crown all but evaporated, leaving Robert Kubica as the best outside bet. And in the constructors’ standings McLaren continued to close on Ferrari and now trail the Scuderia by just five points, with only four races to run…

Toro Rosso

Sebastian Vettel, 1m 30.510s, P1

Sebastien Bourdais, 1m 29.258s, P18

Vettel did a brilliant job all afternoon, from pulling out a huge gap on Kovalainen early on when he was the one with the best visibility, to making sure both pit stops went smoothly, and he controlled the slippery closing stages perfectly too. The team backed him superbly, and while their pole position might have owed a little to the conditions, their first win was totally deserved. Bourdais was desperately unlucky when his Toro Rosso refused to select first gear as the safety car pulled away at the start, and then to have it stall. He eventually recovered, but his sole consolation on his team’s greatest day was to show what might have been by setting the second-fastest lap of the race.

McLaren

Heikki Kovalainen, 1m 30.300s, P2

Lewis Hamilton, 1m 29.721s, P7

Kovalainen admitted quite freely that Vettel just had too much pace for him, and said that he also struggled initially on his extreme-wet Bridgestone tyres, and to keep temperature in the brakes. Hamilton was the star of the really wet going as he moved from 15th to second prior to his sole planned pit stop. He believed he could have won, had it not become necessary to make a second stop to switch to standard wets as the conditions improved.

BMW Sauber

Robert Kubica, 1m 30.298s, P3

Nick Heidfeld, 1m 29.807s, P5

Conditions were so bad in the early going that Kubica did not even know he had overtaken Heidfeld on the straight! The Pole’s strategy played out perfectly when his single pit stop on lap 34 coincided with the point at which drivers could change from Bridgestone’s extreme wets to standard wets. That was a key factor in his podium finish. Heidfeld was happy enough with fifth.

Ferrari

Felipe Massa, 1m 29.696s, P6

Kimi Raikkonen, 1m 28.047s, P9

Massa reported a tough race, in which he had to fight all the way in a car that did not have fantastic wet-road grip. He was on a two-stop strategy, so having to change to intermediates late in the race was not ideal. Nevertheless, he was satisfied to draw within a point of Hamilton. Raikkonen had a really tough afternoon fighting a car that had very little grip until the road dried and he was able to set a string of fastest laps on the standard wets. That came far too late to make him a points contender, however.

History is being created again...

At post time, I can't get updated information on the Italian GP but I know that history has just been made with the youngest ever driver to win a GP. Seems that that Spanish guy's record has been broken....

Rain causes a 'messy' qualifying result

Both the STRs took P1 n P4, Riakkonen and Hamilton took P14 & P15? You may wonder if this is a typo error but the rain did cause quite a mess as some of the front runners could not make it out in time for the next session qualifying. It seems to be like the Japanese GP in 2005 when the front row of the grid was not the front runners but those of the middle performers. So if the weather will be favourable tomorrow, things might change.....

2 wks after the Italian GP....it's the Singapore GP

The clock is ticking as the inaugural 2008 F1 Singtel Singapore GP draws near. Already, signs of road closure are flashing on the EMAS signs on all expressways. I am still trying to think of a way that I can possibly scale the Sheares Bridge to try and get some action. However, if I can think of this, I suppose many will as well. In fact, the organisers will probably do their best to ensure that visibility for 'free-riders' will be as restricted as possible. Sigh...if only someone could bless me with a ticket.....

Recent photo

Look carefully

SBR 08

Surprise, surprise...

When Lewis Hamilton took the chequered flag at Spa on Sunday after one of the most thrilling Grands Prix in living memory, the McLaren driver looked to have moved significantly closer to his first world title. A few hours later that had all changed, Hamilton controversially demoted to third for his clash with Kimi Raikkonen, and Felipe Massa handed the win. As the debate over the justness of the decision rages, we take a team-by-team look at an eventful afternoon in the Ardennes forest, one which means Hamilton and Massa now head to Monza a scant two points apart at the top of the driver standings…

Ferrari

Felipe Massa, 1m 48.222s, P1

Kimi Raikkonen, 1m 47.930s, P18, retired lap 43, accident

It was a day of mixed emotions for Ferrari. Raikkonen drove with all his old fire and had the race in the bag until the weather changed, then made a series of mistakes that resulted in him crashing out on the penultimate lap. That handed the win to Hamilton, until the stewards took it away because of their clash in the chicane at the end of lap 42, and left a surprised Massa, who had not been able to keep up with them, the winner.

McLaren

Lewis Hamilton, 1m 48.135s, P3

Heikki Kovalainen, 1m 48.223s, P10, retired lap 44, gearbox

Hamilton led off the line but threw away his chances with a spin at a slippery La Source on the second lap. Thereafter he chased vainly after Raikkonen until the change in weather gave him the chance he needed to close in. He and the Finn had a fabulous dice and he won on the road until the stewards docked him 25 seconds after the finish, dropping him to third. Kovalainen had an adventurous afternoon, colliding with Heidfeld at La Source at the start, colliding with Webber on lap 10, fighting his way back up through the field and then having to serve a drive-through penalty for that latter transgression. He finished 10th, but stopped on the last lap with a transmission problem.

BMW Sauber

Nick Heidfeld, 1m 49.067s, P2

Robert Kubica, 1m 48.965s, P6

Second place was way more than Heidfeld ever dared expect going into the closing stages of the race, for he was only seventh going into the final four laps. His decision to switch to wet tyres at the end of lap 42 paid off handsomely as he sped round the outside of the likes of team mate Kubica and Sebastian Vettel at Rivage, then blasted by Sebastien Bourdais before Pouhon, as his dry-shod rivals tried to tiptoe to the finish. Kubica was much less happy, complaining about the balance of his F1.08. A lengthy second pit stop also lost him places on his way to sixth, on a day when Toro Rosso ran ahead of the white and blue cars.

Belgium GP...dramas n more dramas

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton scored a sensational fifth season victory at Spa on Sunday afternoon - just when it seemed that Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was on course to emulate Jim Clark’s feat of four-in-a-row Belgian success after dominating the race.

With eight laps left to run Raikkonen, who had taken the lead on the second lap after Hamilton spun at La Source, had a 2.1s lead over the Englishman. The latter was on a charge but lost further time lapping Williams' Kazuki Nakajima, before rain out the back of the circuit rendered the surface a skating rink, and suddenly Hamilton was right with Raikkonen after the Finn lost 1.3s in the middle sector on the 42nd lap.

Going into the chicane Hamilton squeezed alongside Raikkonen but was obliged to surrender the position after missing the exit to the chicane as the Finn moved over on him. He then dived ahead of the Ferrari on the run into La Source, and seemed to have it in the bag. This cliffhanger still had a final installment, however, as Hamilton ran off the road at Pouhon and surrendered the lead again to Raikkonen, who promptly spun and handed it back.

Worse was to come for Ferrari, for as Hamilton eased away, Raikkonen spun and crashed before the chicane and threw away eight crucial points. Thus, as Hamilton took his overall score to 80 points, Felipe Massa brought his Ferrari home second for 72. Raikkonen stays on 57, one behind sixth-placed Robert Kubica who has 58.

In the final melee a rash of pits stops to swap to wet tyres saw Renault’s Fernando Alonso drop from fourth place before scrabbling back to that position, but a brilliant Nick Heidfeld in the BMW Sauber passed four cars on his wets to snatch the final podium place on the line.

Sebastien Bourdais was on track for a great fourth but also lost out, finishing seventh behind Alonso, Toro Rosso team mate Sebastian Vettel and Kubica. Timo Glock took the final point for Toyota, as Red Bull’s Mark Webber, McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen, Red Bull’s David Coulthard, Nico Rosberg in the Williams, Force India’s Adrian Sutil, Nakajima in the other Williams, Honda’s Jenson Button, Toyota’s Jarno Trulli and Force India’s Giancarlo Fisichella followed them home.

Kovalainen, who had made a terrible start and then collided with Webber, earning himself a drive-through penalty, stopped on the last lap but was classified 10th. Besides Raikkonen, the other non-finishers were Honda’s Rubens Barrichello and Renault’s Nelson Piquet, the younger Brazilian crashing out.

“It was just a fantastic race!” Hamilton said. “I just had to keep pushing, pushing, pushing, and I just said to myself it is never over until the fat lady sings!”

The manoeuvre between Hamilton and Raikkonen at the chicane on lap 42 is currently under investigation by the race stewards.

Belgium GP...

Will the flying Finn bounce back? Perhaps his Brazillian team mate will win again? Or will that Englishman continue his winning streak? How about some other drivers who may spring a surprise or two?

SonyEricsson W910i

Since our Singtel Mio plan has just crossed the 12 month mark, there was an offer to do some upgrading. After waiting for about an hour at the Singtel shop downstairs, we were told that there is a 100 discount for every phone on offer. Basically, whatever retail price attached to any of the phones sold at the shop has a $100 discount. We were deciding on which SE to get as Angela was getting tired of Samsung phones. Decided on the SE W910i as the 760i was out-of-stock. Moreover the 910i was slightly better in terms of features though it was just $30 dearer.

Being a 'Nokia only' user myself, I was immediately confortable with the SE. The layout is quite similar to Nokia and I did not have much problems trying to navigate my way around the menu. Compared to Samsung phones which are not as user friendly, SE has certainly improved on this aspect because the older ones were not. So would I ever consider getting a SE phone in the future? Perhaps....

Her inflatable chair

My blog is 2 yrs old

Forgot to mention that this blog crossed her 2nd anniversary. Here's to many more wonderful blogging years ahead....

Hickery Dickery Dock.....

Last 4 mths of the year

Another 122 days to the year 2009. Time REALLY flies. Half the semester has passed and that means I am one-eighth into my BSc course. You find that time simply sails by at a flash when you are so engrossed in a particular task. I was chatting with a course mate while on the way to pick Angela and Esther and she also felt that it seemed as if we had just graduated from Dip Ed. I think I had better go and carry on revising my Cal 2......